Co‐Changes and Mutual Influences of Fearful Temperament, Task Switching, and Maternal Intrusiveness in Early Childhood
This study employed latent change score models to examine the co-changes and mutual influences of fearful temperament, task switching, and maternal intrusiveness in early childhood. Participants included 335 children (171 boys, 164 girls; M<sub>age</sub> = 3.09 years at baseline; 77.3% White, 14.0% Black, 8.4% multiracial, 0.3% Asian, 7.8% Hispanic) and their mothers. Higher levels of maternal intrusiveness at 36 months predicted a smaller increase in children's task switching between 36 and 48 months. Higher levels of task switching at 36 months predicted a larger decrease in fearful temperament. The changes between task switching and fearful temperament co-occurred; as the degree of task switching increased, fearful temperament decreased, or vice versa. Family-oriented interventions that reduce maternal intrusiveness may facilitate children's improvements in task switching, which is closely associated with the development of a fearful temperament.
Authors
- Cynthia L. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3555-8771)
- Ran Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9402-3761)
- Martha Ann Bell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9222-0374)
Institutions
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- Virginia Tech (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Developmental Psychobiology
- Published
- 2025-03-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.70031
- Primary Topic
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Humanities and Social Science Fund of Ministry of Education of China
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development